My Screwed Up Fairytale
by MetallicRain73
Summary: High school senior Bella Swan had her whole life ahead of her when life - and Edward Cullen - decided that her story needed a bit more drama. After an incident that shattered her heart and darkened her soul, she left home without looking back. Now, four and a half years later, Bella's back where it all began, but she's not alone...
1. Prologue

Prologue

You know how when you're a kid and your parents read you these fairy tales where the princess always finds her prince and they fall in love and live happily ever after? How on tv they show tv shows and movies where the normal, average girl _always_ ends up with the dream guy? Throughout your childhood, the whole world encourages you to build a fantasy life in your head on how love is supposed to be. And just like the naive and innocent girl you are, you grow up with high expectations on how love is going to feel and how you'll end up with the right guy and how you'll be together forever. Well, guess what princess? The world? It lied.


	2. Chapter 1 Same Classic Story

Chapter 1: Same Classic Story

"Ellie! Lizzie! We need to go!" I yelled up the stairs. I'm Bella Swan, average height, average weight, brown eyes, brown hair, pretty much no one noticeable. My story though, that's one that'll have everyone talking if they knew. That's because I am not the average twenty-one and a half year old. Nope. Me? I'm a mother. Of twins.

Scandalous you say? Well, I don't really have an excuse. I share the same classic story as the girls on tv shows like _16 and Pregnant _and _Teen Mom_. I fell in love with a guy, thought he loved me back, and had sex with him. We used a condom, but I guess condoms aren't really one hundred percent effective after all. I would have totally written a bad review on the company's website, but I was too grateful for the gifts I got in return. Elodie Alexis Swan and Elizabeth Jane Swan, my two girls, were three and a half year old bundles of joy that I wouldn't trade for anything.

Right about now you're probably counting back the years to see how old I was when I got pregnant. I was 17, a senior at Forks High School located in the town of Forks, Washington. As expected of an average girl living in a small town named after a utensil, I was pretty boring. I was the girl who sat in the back of the classroom, that knew all the answers to the teacher's questions but never raised my hand to answer them. Other than my best friend, Angela, no one noticed me. Until _he _did.

I shook myself out of the past and focused on the present. Since it didn't seem like they were going to come down the stairs anytime soon, I decided to go upstairs myself.

"Lizzie hide it! Mommy's coming!" I heard Ellie whisper-yell. Every time one of them called me "Mommy" my heart melted just a little bit more. I walked into their room and saw them sitting on the floor, legs crossed hands in their laps, looking like perfect angels. I pretended not to have heard what they were saying and let them tell me themselves.

"What were you guys doing?"

"We-" Lizzie started to say.

"LIZZIE!" Ellie interrupted her.

"We wasn't doing nofin, Mommy" Lizzie answered, glaring at her sister. I internally laughed at them.

"Well if you guys want to go to see Grandpa and Nana, we have to leave soon!" I told them. They had never left the state and I knew they were excited. I had told them that the reason we were going to Forks was because Grandpa Charlie and Nana Renee were too busy to visit and that it was our turn to visit them. Little did they know the real reason we were going was far more depressing. We _never _went to Forks. Not since I had left to live with Aunt Jane and Uncle Alec in Phoenix, Arizona. Mom and Dad always came to us because I didn't want to risk anyone recognizing me, or most importantly, the girls. They looked so much like _him_ that anyone who knew him would know.

Both girls jumped up and ran to the closet and stared at me expectantly, waiting for me to help them find a new outfit and change.

"Umm, actually, I bought you guys some new clothes since its colder in Forks." Since Phoenix was so hot, they kids didn't even own winter coats, so Aunt Jane and I had needed to go shopping and buy them some warmer stuff. It's so hard finding them clothes because according to them, they _always_ needed to match. But that wasn't the difficult part. They had to match but be wearing _different colors. _My kids could never agree on a color. Ellie always had to have green, and Lizzie always had to have pink. Even their bedroom color was divided down the middle.

"WEALLY?" They both started jumping up and down at the idea of new clothes. I have no idea where they got that from, it obviously wasn't from me.

"Yup!" Their excitement was contagious. "I'll be right back." I ran to my room and grabbed the huge shopping bag from the closet. "Here you go!" In their excitement, they ripped the bag apart.

I laughed. "Slow down, the clothes aren't going anywhere." I gave them each their pile of clothes, then went back to my room to grab the two small carry-ons I had bought to keep their clothes in. Of course, they were green and pink.

"How about we decide what you guys are going to wear today so we can pack everything up?" We had a long drive ahead of us so I hoped they would agree on something comfortable. I was _not _in the mood to convince two girls that they couldn't wear dresses. "How about this?" I picked up a two pairs of sweatpants and two hoodies with hearts all over them.

"Can we wear the weggings instead?" Lizzie asked, pointing to a pair of leggings that were a darker shade than the sweatpants.

"Whatever you want, baby. Do you want that too?" I asked Ellie. She nodded and I thanked God that today had been easy.

After I dressed them, I noticed that the outfit _did _look better with the leggings. Shit, my kids new how to dress better than I did. I took a moment to _really_ look at them. They weren't identical, but shared enough resemblance that you could tell they were twins. Ellie had my dark brown curls while Lizzie had straight hair that was _his_ coppery color. They both had one dimple, Ellie on her left cheek and Lizzie on her right and they both had _his _beautiful green eyes. When they laughed, they glittered and sparkled like emeralds. They were the kind of short for their age, which only made them that much cuter. I engulfed them in a hug.

"Ooof, Mommy, you squishing me!" Ellie squealed.

"I'm squishing you? _I'm _squishing you?" I started tickling and they begged for mercy.

"Say you love Mommy!" I demanded, laughing along with them.

"WE WUV MOMMY!" They both giggled.

"Good. Now we're running out of time. Go get your toys and say goodbye to Auntie Jane and Uncle Alec." They scampered off happily.

I quickly folded up all the clothes and stuffed them into their designated suitcases. I zipped up both and carried them to the car. Then I went back upstairs and grabbed my own bag. Since I had already changed beforehand, we were ready to go. I went back inside and grabbed my little monsters and headed out the door.

"Bye, Auntie Jane! Bye, Uncle Alec!" They chorused.

"Bye, my babies! See you soon!" Aunt Jane called back.

I put them in their car seats and buckled them up. After making sure I had everything, I went back to the front door where Aunt Jane was standing with Uncle Alec, waiting for us to leave.

"You be careful out there, okay? Call me everyday and tell me if you run into trouble!" She commanded.

"I will." I promised.

"And if you run into what's - his - face call me right away so I can come down there and kick his ass myself!" We both knew who she was talking about.

"Okay, Aunt Jane. I love you but we really have to go. We'll be back in a few weeks, depending on..." I trailed off.

"Oh, I love you too, sweetheart! And don't you worry about hurrying back! Just make sure everything is okay there and keep me updated! You know your mother isn't the best at doing that." Aunt Jane and Mom weren't super close, but she loved her enough that she took in her daughter when she needed help.

"I will." I hugged her tightly, trying to express all the love, gratitude, and emotions I was feeling into that one embrace. Then I turned to Uncle Alec.

"Bye, Uncle Alec" I hugged him just as tightly.

"Bye, kiddo. Be safe." I nodded and stepped back. My eyes stung from the tears I was trying to hold back. For some reason, this felt like a goodbye, even though I knew it was only for a little while. I wiped my eyes and walked to my car. My girls were playing with their dolls as I got in and I turned the ignition. I took a deep breath, trying to prepare myself for what was going to happen next.

Forks, here I come.


	3. Chapter 2 The Long Road Home

Chapter 2: The Long Road Home

When we got to the airport, it was about noon. Since it was the first day of spring break, the airport was packed with college kids catching flights to visit their parents. I zoned out, a wave of nostalgia coming over me. I couldn't stay home after _the incident _and especially after I found out I was pregnant. Since Forks was a small town and everyone knew everyone, I would have been shunned like that girl in _The Scarlett Letter. _I started thinking of how lucky I was that Aunt Jane and Uncle Alec had taken me in like their own daughter. They were there for the diaper changes, midnight feedings, and even to watch the twins during the day when I was at school. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have been able to raise the twins at all.

I was brought back from my thoughts when I felt a small hand clutch my shirt. I looked down and saw Ellie holding my shirt in her left hand and Lizzie's hand in her right. I smiled down at them. I loved how close they were. It made me wish that I had had a sibling growing up.

We walked over to the self-help kiosk and I typed in our information. After checking in ourselves and our luggage and receiving our tickets, we were ready to go. All that we needed to do was wait for the plane.

"Are you guys ready to go on the plane?" I asked them. They both nodded, though I could see them grip each other tighter.

"The plane's not scary at all. We're going to be like birds in the sky. I promise, its going to be soooo much fun! Then, a little while later, we'll be with Nana and Grandpa." That seemed to cheer them up a bit more.

"Flight 46B to Seattle-Tacoma National Airport, now boarding," the automated woman's voice said over the intercom.

I looked up to see where we were now and down at my ticket; we were at 92A. Shit.

"Ellie, Lizzie, we have to run, _now!_ We're going to be late!" gently grabbing each of their hands, we ran towards our gate. They ran as fast as their little legs could take them and I could feel the time ticking by. When we were at 78C, an employee driving one of those indoor luggage cars stopped me.

"Do you want a ride?" I looked at him for a second to make sure he was being serious before I threw all caution to the wind. I lifted both my girls onto his vehicle and then myself.

"Where are you headed?" He asked.

"46B" He tipped an imaginary hat, "Diego Vasquez, at your service." Then he hit the gas pedal and we started weaving through the crowds of people who were walking around the airport.

After a few minutes, we made it to our flight with plenty of time and people still boarding.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much! I really appreciate it," I said, reaching for my purse to give him some money. He put his hand over mine and looked into my eyes. "Hey, that was a favor. Not a transaction." His eyes were dancing with amusement and in that second, his kindness and sense of humor reminded me of my friend Bree. Looking back, I saw that I still had plenty of time before my flight finished boarding.

"This is going to sound really weird but are you single? And straight?"

"Yeah...?" He sounded totally confused and I didn't blame him. He wouldn't in a million years guess where I was going with this.

"Well, since you won't let me pay you, let me do you a favor as well." I reached for my purse, but this time, took out my cellphone, some paper, and a pen. I scrolled through my contact list until I found the person I was looking for. Quickly jotting down the number, I held it out to him.

He looked down at what it said in my messy handwriting: _Dr. Bree Tanner, (602)713-8284_

"I know this is going to sound really cheesy but I know the _perfect _person for you. She's a doctor, single, and I just _know _you'll hit it off." He looked dubious. "Please just promise you'll call her?"

"Okay, I will. Your flight's about ready to leave, you should board before its too late," He commented. Looking behind me, I saw that he was right.

I jumped out of the car thing and then reached over to help my girls get down. We quickly walked over to the boarding line; there were only a few people before us. I looked back towards Diego to see he was getting ready to drive off. "Thanks again!" I called back one more time.

I was about to hand all three of our tickets to the woman when I felt Lizzie tug on my pant leg. She was looking up at me expectantly and I knew what she wanted right away. I handed each of them their tickets and they handed them to the woman.

"Aww, they're so cute! Are they you're sisters?" This used to offend me, but by now I was used to it.

"No, that's Mommy." Lizzie was the vocal one of the two.

I started shaking with barely contained laughter when I heard the lady say a shocked 'oh' before she scanned our tickets and let us go through.

We were the last ones to get on the plane so we found our seats and sat down quickly. I heard the pilot say we were about to take off so I helped Ellie and Lizzie with their seat belts. A little while later, I felt the plane start to move. Ellie had the window seat so she was looking outside while Lizzie was sitting next to her and trying to see around her head. The plane sped faster and faster on the runway before it came off the ground.

Then we were off.

As the plane rose higher into the atmosphere, I gave the girls some candy to suck on since I knew the elevation would probably hurt their ears since they were so young.

I saw Ellie whisper something to Lizzie. Lizzie quickly reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. When they looked at me, I quickly turned my gaze so they wouldn't know I was looking at them. The I felt Lizzie tug on my sleeve. I turned and she gave me the piece of paper. Slowly unfolding it, I saw a colored picture with three stick figures in the middle and one in the background.

"This is beautiful, girls, but who is this?" I pointed to the green person in the background. From the hair colors and size differences I could tell that the middle three were supposed to be us, but I didn't know who the person in the back was.

"That's daddy," Lizzie said in a 'duh' tone.

I froze. "What do you mean 'that's daddy'?"

"On tv, the girl don't have a daddy because he at war. Isn't our daddy at war?" Ellie asked innocently.

I felt so tempted just to say yes, but I couldn't lie to them. "Well, girls, you don't really have a daddy. Some people only have mommies, and some only have daddies, and some have both. But you know what?" They both looked at me then. "You have Auntie Jane, and Uncle Alec, and Nana and Grandpa! Instead of just two people who love you you have five." They nodded and seemed content with my answer so I breathed a sigh of relief.

A woman a few seats across from us was staring at me strangely. When she noticed me staring back, she turned her gaze away and blushed.

This was going to be a long flight.

We landed at SeaTac in just a few hours. We went to baggage retrieval and got our stuff. Getting a cart, I loaded everything on there and looked at my watch. We were making good time; it was only about 3 pm, which meant it was lunch time for the girls. Spying a McDonald's ahead in the Food Court area, I decided it was okay for them to eat junk food for one day.

When I told them, they jumped up and down, excitedly asking me what they could and couldn't get. I laughed as they finally decided to have Happy Meals.

I wasn't really that hungry so I didn't buy anything for myself. Instead, I decided to call my mom. She answered on the first ring.

"Bella?"

"Hey, Mom."

"Oh, hi honey! How have you been? How are the girls?" I looked over at them, playing with the toys that had come with their Happy Meals.

"We're all great. How are you and Dad?" I knew it wasn't easy for them, especially now.

"Oh, I'm doing fine! You're father, now that's a different matter."

I felt my heart drop into my stomach. "Is he..." I paused, my throat closing. "Did he...?"

"Oh, dear God no! Oh, honey, I didn't mean it like that! I just meant he refuses to listen to the doctors when they tell him to take it easy. Why don't you ask him yourself?"

"What do you mean ask him myself? Isn't he still in a coma?" I was so confused.

"Bells?" I heard my dad's gruff voice and I felt a giant weight being lifted off my shoulders.

"Daddy? You woke up! Are you okay?"

"Don't you worry, Bells. I'm fine. I just ate too much of that damned fried fish at the diner over the years!" He joked.

"Dad! You know it's more serious than that! You had a stroke and were in a coma for a week! You have to start taking better care of yourself! You can't push yourself too much! You have to listen to your doctors and to Mom!" I felt like I was talking to the twins rather than a full grown man.

"I will, Bella, I will. How are the little mini-bells?" He had started calling them that as soon as I had told him I was pregnant with twins.

"Great, growing by the day. They keep life exciting, that's for sure."

"I bet you're having more fun that I am. This hospital is damn boring. You're mother won't let me watch the Seahawks game, I mean, I thought _I _was the patient?" He sounded irritated.

"So you're in the hospital now?" I said vaguely. I didn't want him to know that I was there.

"Yeah, they want to keep me in here for a few more days to make sure I'm back to normal."

"Okay, well I've got to go, Dad. I'll call you later. Love you."

"Love you too, Bells."

The line went dead and I felt so happy that he was okay. Both my mom and I were scared for his life. Because of the high cholesterol he didn't know he had, his arteries had become lined with plaque and he couldn't get enough oxygen into his brain, causing him to have a stroke. Then, because of the stroke, he went into a coma. It had seemed like one bad thing had been happening after another and now things were finally going right again.

After the twins finished with their meal, I threw everything away and headed in the directions the 'Car Rentals' signs pointed to. Since a cab would cost a fortune for such a long drive, I had decided that it would be best to drive to Forks myself.

Four hours, three bathroom breaks, and two stops for gas later, I marched my little monsters through the front doors of Forks Memorial Hospital. As I took my first breath and the smell of antiseptic and bleach assaulted my nostrils, I couldn't help but think of the day Aunt Jane took me to my first doctor's appointment a week after I had gone to live with her.

_*Flashback: April 2009*_

_"Isabella Swan?" A nurse called._

_I froze. I was nervous; what if my baby wasn't healthy? What if it was? How was I going to raise a kid? I was seventeen!_

_"Bella, come on" Jane encouraged. She wasn't able to have her own children so she was more excited than I was. _

_I stood up from my chair and I felt a ripple of pain radiate through my back. As I leaned backwards to stretch it out, I had a thought. This was the maternity ward; were't the chairs supposed to be comfortable for the pregnant women? I realized with a jolt that the category also included me now. I followed the nurse to the room that was prepared and sat down on the bed. A moment later, the female doctor walked in. _

_"I'm Doctor Bree Tanner, and I'll be you're doctor for the next-" she paused to look at her chart. "seven and a half months." _

_After asking me a few questions, she told me to lie down so she could check my baby's heartbeat. She squeezed some gel over my barely-there stomach and waved a wand around it. _

_Almost immediately, I heard a fast heartbeat. I looked over on the screen to see a tiny persistent flutter in the image. My eyes pricked with tears. For the first time, my baby seemed real. Like I had tangible proof that my baby existed. And in the two seconds that I had heard my baby's heartbeat, I fell in love with it. I looked over to Dr. Tanner to see her frowning. I felt my heart stop. What was wrong? _

_"Um...do you have a history of twins in your family?" she asked unexpectedly._

_"No..?" I didn't know where she was going with this. I heard Aunt Jane gasp but kept my attention on the doctor._

_"What about the father's family?" I flinched when she said 'the father'. _

_"Yeah, he was a twin." _

_"Oh. My. God," Aunt Jane said, shocked. I looked at her, curious. She was staring at the screen where my baby was still being shown. I looked at it more closely, trying to see what had her so shocked. Then I saw it. The flutter of a second heartbeat a little to the left of the first flutter. My mouth fell open._

_"Congratulations, Bella! You're having twins!" _

_*End Flashback*_

I smiled at the memory. I had fainted then, but now I knew that that day was only the beginning.

Walking side-by-side with my girls, I walked over to the information desk. Instead of the expected woman, I was greeted by a male nurse. He had his back turned to me and was looking at some paper work.

"Excuse me?" He turned. "Charles Swan?" I asked.

"Well, hello to you too, beautiful. Are you sure you're not looking for a Felix Demitri? Because if you are..." he pointed to his name tag. At first glance he was attractive, but not anymore. I knew his type. Total player.

"What's a Fewix?" Ellie asked, trying to see above the desk. At the sound of her voice, a lightbulb flashed above my head. I picked her up in my left arm and Lizzie in my right.

"Felix, these are my two daughters." As expected, his eyes bulged out of his face and he started to stutter. No guy wants a girl with one kid, let alone two. I'd learned that lesson time and time again.

"Charles Swan?" I repeated.

He typed the name on his computer. "S-Sixth floor, r-room 644" he was stuttering.

"Thank you," I said sweetly.

Putting my girls on the ground and reaching for their hands, we walked to the elevators and headed to see my father.

Since I had two kids, they always fought over who got to press the elevator button. Over the years, I had a perfected method: one of them would press the up or down button, and the other would press the floor number button. This was never really a problem since Ellie loved the up/down button and Lizzie loved the number buttons.

As we got out of the elevator, I followed the directions the signs pointed to until we got to the 640s. When we got to door 644, I knocked on the door.

"Come in!" I heard my mother say.

I squatted down to my kids' height. "Are you ready to surprise Nana and Grandpa?" I asked them. The both nodded excitedly. "Okay, go on!" I opened the door for them and watched them scamper inside.

I followed slowly behind them, pulling out my phone. Turning it to camera mode, I recorded the whole scene.

"Nana! Grampa!" They squealed.

"Oh my God! Girls! What are you guys doing here?" My mom exclaimed.

"Well, we just wanted to visit the world's best Nana and Grandpa, right girls?"

"Yeah!" They agreed.

While they began a fascinating conversation with my mom about the 'bird plane', I turned off my phone and walked over to my dad.

"Hey, Bells."

The sight of my independent dad lying helpless in a hospital bed brought tears to my eyes. Of course, he noticed.

"Aww don't cry, Bells. I'm fine." And I could see that he was. That just made the tears run down my face faster, this time in relief. I wiped them quickly.

"Are you okay? Really?" I wanted to make sure.

"I'm _fine_. Healthy as a horse." He reassured me. At that, I reached down and hugged him. Dad was never one for showing emotion, but he hugged me back just as tightly.

I straightened up, wiping my eyes again. I was starting to get hungry since I had skipped lunch, so I decided to treat myself and my girls to something from the vending machines we had passed by in the hallway. After asking my parents if they wanted anything, I walked out my dad's room.

I hadn't taken one step out of the room when I ran straight into someone and gracefully landed on my ass. The person I had run into reached down his hand - I could tell it was a him from the dress shoes he was wearing - and helped me up. I straightened out my clothing and the words 'thank you' were just about to cross my lips when I looked up to see the face of the person my awful sense of luck and coordination had made me crash into. I had collided into the one and only, Dr. Carlisle Cullen.

"Bella?"

"Hi, Doctor Cullen." Of course he recognized me. He was an ER doctor and because of my accident-proness, back when I lived here he had treated most of injuries.

"Oh, none of that. You know it's Carlisle to you. How have you been? I heard about your father, how is he?" He sounded truly concerned. I wondered how someone so good and genuine could have fathered a demon like Edward.

"I'm fine. My father's woke up from the coma and he's better, but he won't listen to the doctors when they tell him to rest."

He laughed at that."I bet he isn't. He always was stubborn."

"Mommy! Wook what Nana show me!" Ellie ran up to me, shoving her hands up towards me. Upon a closer look, I saw that there was yarn wrapped around her fingers in a cats cradle.

"Good job, sweetie," I praised her.

"Mommy, me too!" Lizzie ran up to me and copied her sister's actions.

"You're a mother?" Carlisle asked. I could hear the curiosity in his voice. I stiffened, I had forgotten he was there. Then I panicked, what if he recognized them as his grandchildren?

"Umm, yeah. I am. This is Elodie, and this is Elizabeth," I said, pointing to each of my daughters in turn.

"I'm Wizzie. Very nice to meechu." Lizzie said in her cute lisp, and stuck one of her yarn-wrapped hands out to him. Ellie, not wanting to be left out, did the same. Surprising me, and the girls, he kneeled down to their level.

"I'm Doctor Cullen. It's very nice to meet you, too." He took Ellie's hand in his left, and Lizzie's in his right and shook them at the same time. They giggled, making me smile.

"How old are they?" He asked, looking up at me. I could tell he wasn't trying to judge me but just wanted to know.

"They're three and a half," I boasted, like the proud mother that I am.

"They're beautiful, Bella." He then took a better look at them. I saw his eyes narrow and his forehead crease. I felt the dread creep up on me like a dark wave. His eyes shifted from Ellie to Lizzie and I could practically see the gears turning in his head. He analyzed them, taking in every feature before gazing into their bright green eyes. The same eyes as his wife. The same eyes as his son.

He gasped.

Shit.


	4. Chapter 3 In the Beginning

**A/N**

**Thanks for the amazing reviews! I've never written anything that anyone else has read before, so this is all new to me. I'm so glad you guys like it! I had no idea how this story would turn out so I totally appreciate the support! I plan to update like once every week or so so keep watch out for them :) I don't really have a beta so I apologize in advance for any grammar/spelling/punctuation mistakes. This chapter is shorter than the last one, but I made up for it by adding lots of blasts from the past.**

**I haven't really said this before, so I'll say it now. All credits to where credits are due. I don't own any of the characters, except for the ones I created. The storyline is mine. Don't take it. It's not nice. **

**Okay...I'll shut up now. On with the story!**

**Chapter 3: In the Beginning...**

"Are they...is..." He trailed off, breathless. He was looking at the twins with wonder in his eyes. Not even one day back and someone had already discovered my secret. Just my luck.

"Lizzie, Ellie, could you guys go play with Nana? I have to talk to Doctor Cullen for a minute." As they skipped off, Carlisle stood to his full height.

"Are they Edward's? I hadn't even known that you two had been together." He was confused and I didn't blame him.

"Yeah. They're Edward's. And we weren't together that long." I shuddered, just saying his name. I thought back to the day that had set this entire situation in motion.

_*Flashback: January 5th, 2009*_

_It was lunchtime on the first day of school after winter break of my senior year. I was sitting at my usual lunch table with Angela when THE Edward Cullen walked up to us. I had no idea what he was doing. He was one of _**_them_**_. The ultra-popular group of beautiful people that reigned over the kingdom that was our high school. Edward Cullen and his family were the royalty and everyone else was below them as either noblemen or serfs. There was him, his older brother Emmett, his twin sister Alice, and their three adoptive cousins James, Jasper, and Rosalie Hale. _

_He walked over and sat down in the seat in front of me. _

_"Hey, Bella." I was surprised he knew my name. "Do you want to go out with me?" I was instantly suspicious. _

_"Sorry, I'm taken." I lied, smirking. I heard Angela snort next to me, trying not to laugh. I knew that this was probably a dare or something. I was a serf, and the king was noticing me for the first time. And everyone knows the king never notices serfs unless one had broken the rules and was about to get executed._

_He looked stunned, like a girl had never refused him before. Probably because no girl had. All the girls were always falling all over him, and he had probably expected me to do the same. "Uhh...ok" was his intelligent response before he walked away._

**_Later that day..._**

_I walked into Mr. Banner's Biology classroom and sat down in my usual seat. I was doodling in my notebook when I heard Angela sit in the seat next to me. I turned to ask her if she knew if there was homework due when I realized it wasn't Angela, but Edward. I looked across the room to see Angela in Edward's old seat. She shrugged in an 'I don't know what's happening, either' kind of way. I turned back Edward._

_"What are you doing here?" I questioned him. _

_"Did you really think I was going to give up so easily?"_

_*End Flashback*_

I remembered how he hadn't given up, no matter how many times I had tried to push him away. How he had seemed like the perfect gentleman, and had convinced me the rumors of the way he treated women weren't true. He had made me fall in love with him, claiming he had fallen for me as well. He had used me for his own selfish gain. I wish I had listened to my first instinct and stayed away. Then, I wouldn't have been executed. Unlike the serfs in the Middle Ages who had lost their lives, I had lost my pride, my innocence, and my ability to trust.

I was drawn out from my thoughts when I heard Carlisle's voice.

"Umm, what?" I blinked a couple times and shook my head a little to gather my thoughts and clear my head.

"Did. He. Know." He spoke slowly, as if trying to keep his anger in check. I couldn't tell if he was angry with me or his son, but I answered him anyway.

"No. And I don't intend for him to. We haven't needed him before, and we don't need him now," I stated, matter-of-factly.

"I don't know what happened between you two, but don't punish the children. Give them a chance to have a father."

"You're right. You _don't _know what happened. _No one _knows_._" I hissed. "But believe me when I say my daughters are better off without him."

"At least let them meet my wife and let us introduce ourselves as their other grandparents. Don't punish us for the mistakes of our son." He begged. He gazed longingly behind me into my dad's hospital room.

To my chagrin, I found myself saying yes, I just couldn't say no. He didn't want anything from me but my permission to simply be a grandfather to the grandchildren he didn't know he had. But I had to draw the line somewhere.

"I'll tell them that you and Esme are their grandparents, and you can have a relationship with them, but you can't tell anyone else. I am not going let them meet anyone else from your family. Not Edward, not any of your other kids, just you and Esme." I had to make myself clear. I would _not _subject my kids to the rejection and pain I had been trying to put behind me all these years.

He nodded, eager to take any chance he could to meet the twins for real. He looked down and took out his pager, which was vibrating in the pocket of his doctor's coat.

"I must go, but come over to the house on Saturday, at let's say about noon, okay? Here's the address..." He scribbled down an address on his clipboard and ripped the paper off and handed it to me.

"I won't tell Esme, or she'll want to see the twins for herself and she'll come over to your house." He laughed, thinking of his wife. The pager impatiently buzzed again and he started backing away. "Thank you, Bella. Truly." He briskly walked away. He seemed so grateful at the thought of getting to meet his grandchildren that I started to feel bad that Edward's parents had missed out on three years of the twins' lives. As quickly as it had appeared, I squashed the feeling down. It was _his_ fault, not mine. _He _had pursued me, despite my obvious lack of interest;_ he _had made me fall in love with him; and _he _had taken my heart and given me back the shattered pieces of its remains.

_*Flashback: Sunday, February 15th, 2009*_

_I woke up in the morning and I kept my eyes closed, basking in the feeling of bliss that hadn't faded since last night. I thought about how sweet Edward had been, how he had told me he loved me, how I trusted him completely and have given him everything I had last night on Valentine's Day. I had told my parents I was staying over at Angela's and they had believed me. A totally cliche thing to do, but it had felt so right to have Edward be my first. I finally opened my eyes and stretched, slightly sore from last night's activities. I looked over to see the other side of the bed was empty. I looked around the room, but he wasn't there. Then, I heard him faintly talking to someone in the living room. _

_Wanting to surprise him, I picked up his shirt from the floor, put it on, and tiptoed through the open door and headed in the direction of his voice. Once I got within hearing distance, I stopped cold._

_"I won the bet, James! I better have five hundred bucks waiting for me tomorrow...Yes! I slept with her!...I can't believe she put out either, I mean, who would've thought that Bella Swan would put out after only a few weeks? She's a total prude!...Yeah, I thought I would have to wait till it was closer to graduation, too...Yeah, I can prove it. I took a video...I sent it to you...No she doesn't know!"_

_My jaw fell open and I put my over my mouth to keep myself from making a sound. I couldn't believe it. What happened to the guy who was so sweet and opened my door for me and told me I was beautiful and that he loved me? The guy I had trusted completely with my heart and soul? The guy I had just given my virginity to? I felt my skin crawl at the thought that he had just said those things just to get in my pants. All I was to him was a bet. I felt like crying. _

_Then I thought back this words to James. What video? Then I remembered the odd perfectly-arranged pile of clothes that was sitting on the desk that was against the wall to the left of the bed. I silently rushed back into the room and looked on the desk. It was gone. I felt sick to my stomach. My emotions were in a whirlwind. I felt hurt flash through me, then betrayal, then boiling anger. How dare he? I silently backed back into the bedroom and grabbed my clothes, I felt like a whore, like the girls he used to be with before me._

_Seeing a pad of paper and a pen on the nightstand, I scribbled a note in all caps and underlined it. _

**_FUCK YOU_**

**_You just did_**, _my inside voice told me. I hugged my arms around myself to stop the pain and hold my heart together. At the thought, I randomly thought of that girl in _**_Twilight _**_who cried her heart out and fell apart because her vampire boyfriend left her. I lowered my arms. At that moment, I promised myself that I was going to be strong, and that I would never jump off a cliff or cry another tear over Edward Cullen ever again. Quickly wiping the tears from my eyes, I opened the window and stepped out. Thanking the big man upstairs that his room was on the first floor, I ran. _

_*End Flashback*_

I walked back into my dad's hospital room and tried to plaster on a smile, but I was too emotionally and physically drained. I thought back to what Carlisle had said. Saturday. Today was Monday, which gave me the rest of the week to find a way to tell my parents, tell the girls, and prepare myself for the storytelling I would be doing for Carlisle and Esme.

I looked at my watch to see it was eight twenty-three.

"Come on, girls, let's go to Nana and Grandpa's house and get some sleep. It's almost your bedtime. You can play with Nana and Grandpa tomorrow."

"Nooooo!" They whined. They put on their signature matching pouts and brought out the puppy dog eyes.

They knew I could never resist when they did that, but I forced myself to look away. Just as I was about to say no, my mom started talking. She wasn't as trained as I was in ignoring the pout and she fell for it instantly.

"Aww, Bella just let them stay here for another hour or so. It's only for one night! I'll drive them home before you know it, right girls?" She brought out her own pout. My rebellious little monsters nodded in approval of her plan.

I shuddered to think of how they would be when they were teenagers. I could see them begging to ride on the back of their boyfriends' motorcycles and spending thousands of dollars shopping. Already, I could tell they wouldn't be social outcasts like me. They were absolutely adorable and I could tell they would be gorgeous when they were teenagers. Teenagers. Ugh. I was _way _too young to have teenagers.

"Yeah, Bells. Let the mini-bells stay." My dad started pouting in his hospital bed. They had taken over my father, too.

Looking down at the twins, I fell victim as well and gave in.

"Hmmmmmm..." I pretended to think about it. "Fine, but only after you give Mommy a big kiss!" They rushed over and each planted one on my cheek. Kissing each of them on the forehead and giving them each a squeeze, I said goodbye and walked out the door.


	5. Chapter 4 The Past In The Present

**A/N**

**Yes, I am aware I *borrowed* the name of this chapter from an episode of _Bones._ I thought the title suited this chapter, so I used it; sue me (but please don't). :P**

**All credits to where credits are due...**

**Chapter 4: The Past In The Present **

_I parked my truck in a parking spot at the far end of the parking lot and stepped out of it. As I walked into the school, everyone's eyes were on me. Some were on their phones, flicking their eyes back and forth between the screen and me. Some had the decency to avert their eyes when I looked at them, while some where just openly staring. Self-conscious, I looked down at what I was wearing, thinking I had forgotten something. Nope. Shirt, pants, shoes, backpack; I had everything. I kept walking and headed towards my locker. _

_"Blue's a great color on you. You should wear it more often." A boy, I think his name was Tyler or something, said. He was leaning against his own locker with a group of friends around him. I looked down at my clothes. I wasn't wearing any blue. Seeing my confusion, he looked back at his friends and they all started laughing. _

_I sped up my walking and changed direction, heading to the bathroom to see if my makeup was running or if I had something on my face._

_Tanya Denali, strutting in sky high heels, a mini skirt, and a top that looked so small it looked like it was meant for a dog, followed me in and cornered me._

_"Hey, slut," she sneered. _

_I reared back, stunned. I had been called a lot of things in my life, but I had never been called a slut. _

_"How was it? I mean, obviously it was amazing, it's _**_Edward Cullen_**..._" she pretended to be thinking about something._

_I was confused. How did she know I had slept with Edward? I ignored her though, and started walking into a stall as she kept talking._

_"You never did seem like the kind of person to make a sex tape though," That caught my attention. I turned towards her._

_"What are you talking about?" I felt a wave of dread crash over me._

_She reached her hand down her shirt into her bra and drew out her phone. She typed something on it, then stuffed it back into her bra. _

_I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and I took it out. It said 'One New Text Message". It said the text was from an 'unknown number' but I could guess who it was. I looked up at Tanya who was smirking. I had no idea how she got my number, but ignored it. I opened the text and saw that a video was attached. I hit play and what I saw chilled me to the bone. On the small screen I saw Edward and I on the bed in his room. I saw the dark blue bra and panty set I had been wearing that night and my eyes glazed over. I thought back to Tyler's comment about looking good in blue. _

_Dropping my phone on the ground, I bent over and immediately threw up in the toilet in the stall I was halfway in._

_"Ewww!" Tanya whined. She backed away. _

_"You should work on your video editing skills. It's a pretty amateur video..." she was laughing. She turned and wobbled out the door. _

_"Bye, slut." She called over her shoulder._

I woke up panting. I sat up and for a minute; I didn't know where I was. Then I remembered the previous day. Groaning, I dropped my head back into my pillow. I hadn't had that dream since before the twins were born, which made me wonder what had caused me to have it tonight. _Probably de ja vu from being back in my old room, _I thought. It was always the same nightmare. That memory was branded into my mind so deep that even when I didn't think of it consciously, my subconscious tormented me with it when I was asleep. For the two weeks after The Incident and before moving in with Aunt Jane and Uncle Alec,I would wake up every night screaming. My mom would always rush in, rub my back, and say 'it was only a dream'. If only she knew I was only reliving the day that was supposed to be a girl's sweetest memory but was my never ending nightmare.

Not only had Edward Cullen lied to me and had sex with me just because of a bet, he had recorded us and sent it to everyone in school. That first day at school after sleeping with him was the worst day of my life. I looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was only three fifty two.

I tossed and turned for the next few hours, unable to fall asleep no matter how hard I tried.

I gave up trying to sleep when I saw the sunlight shining through from behind the curtains. I got up, and headed downstairs into the kitchen for breakfast.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The days after that were kind of a blur. Today was Friday, and I was bored out of my mind. Sure, the twins kept life exciting, but there was only so much to do in Forks. When I tried to think of what I used to do, I kept thinking of Angela Weber, my best friend.

_*Flashback: First Day Back At School After _**_The Incident_**_*_

_ I walked into Biology and saw Angela sitting in Edward's now-usual spot. _

_"What happened? The video was sent around the whole school. I can't believe he did that!"_

**_At least one person knows I didn't send the video around, _**_I thought.__I told her the whole story and I could see the sympathy in her eyes. _

_At least I had one friend._

_*End Flashback*_

After that day, she protected me from the snide comments and snickers, and stuck by me, even when she was insulted just for hanging out with me. She had been the first person I told when I was pregnant, and had helped me break the news to my parents. She had been at the airport to send me off, and had even knitted the girls two tiny hats once I told her I was having twin girls. After I left, we had emailed occasionally, but it had been a couple months since last time. Since Carlisle and Esme were going to meet the twins, I decided Angela should meet them too.

I looked through my phone till I found her number. I hit 'call' before I could chicken out.

"Hello?"

"Angie?"

"Bellie! OH MY GOD! WE HAVEN'T TALKED IN FOREVER! Bella! How are you? And the twins? And I heard about your dad, is he okay?" She rambled on.

I laughed at her use of my childhood nickname.

"Everyone's great! My dad came out of the coma and he's coming out of the hospital tomorrow! And the twins are great! Growing and running all around the place. How are you? How's UDub?" She had decided to go to the University of Washington and major in adolescent psychology.

"Great! I'm actually home visiting my parents and my little brothers. How's Phoenix?"

"I'm not in Phoenix. Since my dad was sick, I decided a visit was in order, and..." I didn't get to finish my sentence.

She squealed and I pulled the phone away from my ear as fast as I could.

"You're here? We have to meet up! Can I meet the girls?" She was so eager, I wondered why I hadn't done this sooner.

"Of course!" I laughed.

We talked for what seemed like hours (even though it was only forty-five minutes) and I had forgotten how much I had missed her. We decided to meet up at my parents' house in an hour.

Not even a half hour had passed when I heard the doorbell ring. I opened the door and was greeted with a tight hug.

"Where are the girls?" She asked, looking behind me.

"Lizzie! Ellie!" They bounded over.

"This is your aunt, Angela," I said. They looked up at her with wonder. They didn't have any family other than me, my aunt, uncle, and parents, so having another aunt was like a miracle to them.

She bent down. "Hi. I'm Angela. Can you tell me your names?" Even though she already knew them.

"I'm Ewizabet, but I wike Wizzie," Lizzie said, shyly.

"I'm Ewodie, but I wike Ewwie," Ellie said, following her sister's example.

"Since I'm your aunt, I brought you guys a present!" She ran back to her car and came back with two gigantic bears. Each one was the size of one of my kids.

Ellie and Lizzie were jumping up and down at the sight. She handed them each a bear and each of the girls hugged their bear. You could barely see their bodies behind the bears.

"Fank you, Aunt Angela," They both said. Both of their voices were muffled by the bears' fur.

"Oh my God, Bella! They're soooo cute! And they look just like you and Edward!" Angela exclaimed.

I gave her a look and she put her hand over her mouth, looking at me apologetically.

"Who's Edwad?" Lizzie asked, always the curious one.

"No one, sweetie. Why don't you guys go play in the living room while I talk to Aunt Angela?"

I was sending them away to play a lot lately.

Angela and I sat down at the dining room table with a couple and juice boxes (I and caught up on everything, literally. About what had been happening in our lives since I had left, about our college experiences, about our parents, about where our classmates were now, and finally, about where I was going to go tomorrow.

"You're going to the Cullen house?" She leaned forward with interest

I told her about how Carlisle had begged me to meet the little monsters and how I couldn't say no.

"He wasn't the one who made the bet, you know? He didn't even know about it, and probably still doesn't. I couldn't keep them away because of their son's sins."

"That bet was a total dick thing to do." she agreed.

"And I thought I was worth more than a lousy five hundred bucks, you know? Remember junior year when we read about the Trojan War in English class?" I didn't give her time to answer. "About how Menelaus waged a war just to get his wife back even after she slept with someone else and you think: wow. That's true love. I never wanted anyone to start a war over me but I think I at least deserved some respect."

"And you totally do. Every girl does. I just wish you had found a decent guy."

"But I got my girls out of it." I glanced over to where my girls were playing with their bears.

"You did such a great job raising them! they are just so cute!"

"It was mostly my aunt and uncle. Aunt Jane was a godsend those first few months especially. I had no idea what I was doing, but she did. I wouldn't have been able to go to school if it hadn't been for her."

"How _did _you finish high school? I don't think you ever mentioned that..."

"I didn't really want to go to high school after what happened here, and I didn't want to drop out, so my mom convinced the principal to give me my diploma. I had been offered a chance to graduate early a few months before that, but I had wanted to have the whole senior year experience." Angela scoffed, considering what had happened during my senior year. "And since I had good grades and was near the top of my class, the principal let me. Then when I went to Phoenix, I started taking night classes at a community college in Phoenix to become an English teacher." I finished.

"Dude, do you remember how sad you were in those last couple of weeks before you left? How you didn't know if you would graduate high school, let alone raise a kid? Now look at you! Raising twin girls and going to college at the same time! All those people who made fun of you can _suck it!_" I snorted at that.

I raised my juice box. "Here's to people sucking it."

She tapped her juice box with mine and we both laughed.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Today was Saturday, otherwise known as the day of my demise. I was in the car with my girls, on the way to the see Carlisle and Esme. I had told them that Doctor Cullen was actually Grandpa Carlisle and that they had another set of grandparents, and they couldn't stop talking about how they were getting family all over the place in Forks and that they didn't want to leave.

With some minor difficulty, we finally got to the Cullen house and I gasped. I was huge. At least three times the size of my parent's house.

I unbuckled the girls from their car seats and grabbed each of their hands.

"Ready to meet Grandpa Carlisle and Nana Esme?"

They both nodded and I raised my head. It's now or never. I walked up the steps to the house and rang the doorbell.


	6. Chapter 5 Story Of My Life

**A/N**

**Thank you guys for the amazing reviews! I love reading how invested you guys are in the characters and the storyline. I know you guys were disappointed at the shortness of the last chapter - and the minor cliffy - so I made this chapter extra-great (if I do say so myself). Enjoy :)**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Story Of My Life**

The chime of the doorbell radiate throughout the house and moments later, the door was opened and I was greeted by Esme Cullen.

"Oh, Bella! Carlisle said you were coming!" Then she looked down at the twins.

"And you two must be my beautiful grandbabies!"

"Girls, this is your Nana Esme." They looked up at her looking almost starstruck. I had told them everything I knew about her and they were impressed.

"Hi, Nana Esme!" Ellie chimed.

"Yeah! Hi, Nana Esme!" Lizzie almost yelled.

**"**Oh!" She gasped, looking into their eyes. I was surprised to see tears gently falling down her cheeks. I felt even guiltier than I had when talking to Carlisle. I shifted my weight from foot to foot anxiously. She noticed immediately.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Bella! Where are my manners? Come in! All of you!" She wiped her tears and reached her hands down to each of the girls and, hand in hand with her newfound grandchildren, she led us into the house.

The Cullens had moved since I had left, and I was amazed at how beautiful the new house was. I remembered that Esme was an interior designer and was impressed at how good she was at her job. All the walls were white, but rather than making the house look plain, it made it look bigger and more open. One wall was all glass, and showed off the beautiful yard that led into the forest.

I trailed my hand across the bookshelf that was against the wall and froze when I saw a family portrait. From the looks of it, it was taken pretty recently. All of the Cullens and the Hales, even if they weren't related by blood, were pictured. I looked from face to face and found myself involuntarily thinking of the past.

_*Flashback: Monday: February 16th, 2009*_

_Right before lunch, I walked over to my locker to put my stuff in and grab my lunch money. I stopped cold. _**_SLUT _**_was scrawled across my locker in lipstick and I looked over to see Rosalie glaring at me and slowing applying the same color to her lips. She smiled cruelly. _

_"I can't believe you took a video of yourself having sex with Edward and sent it around school. Whore." She slapped me across the face and strutted off. _

_Holding my hand to my throbbing cheek, I stood there looking after her, stunned. Me? Why the hell would anyone think I had sent the video myself? I could feel the eyes training on me as I went to the lunchroom and looked over to see Edward. He was sitting at his usual table with his family. I marched right up to him. His whole family was glaring at me. What had _**_I _**_done wrong? I was the one who was wronged. _

_"Why in the HELL did you record us? And send it around?" I was angry and hurt at the same time but I only let him see the first emotion. _

_"What are you talking about, Bella? You did that. I thought you were different. I didn't think you were the type of person to do this." He was lying, straight to my face. I looked into his green eyes, the bright, happy green eyes I had grown to love, and only saw malice. His eyes were frigid I felt like shivering. _

_Alice then stepped up to defend her brother. "You're such a bitch. I used to think you were nice but obviously I was wrong. Slut." She then proceeded to dump her Cherry Coke all over me. _

_I felt the tears well up in my eyes at the word. I had been slapped, a drink had been dumped on me, and I had been called a slut three times and a whore once, all before fourth period. Biting my lip to stop myself from crying, I turned around and headed out of the lunchroom. Everyone was laughing at me the whole way out I was determined to be strong, but as the day went on, and the glares and insults kept coming my way, I felt my strength wavering._

**_Later that day..._**

_When I went home, I went straight to my room and cried and screamed into my pillow. My mom came up to my room over and over again, asking what was wrong, but I refused to tell her. _

_*End Flashback*_

I made myself suffer through their torture for two weeks. Then I found out I was pregnant and I took the first flight for Phoenix. I never told my parents who the father was, but I knew my dad knew_._

"Bella?" Esme's voice brought me out of my thoughts. I blinked and looked at her. She had already led the girls into the living room and I was lagging behind, staring at their family portrait. I blushed and looked away.

"Are you alright, dear?"

"I'm fine." I followed her into the living room and stopped in my tracks. The floor was barely visible under a gigantic pile of children's items. Dolls, stuffed animals, a kitchen set with plastic food, clothing of various colors, and a bunch of other stuff were scattered about the floor.

I looked to Esme for an explanation.

She looked sheepish. "I kind of went overboard on the shopping. It's just when Carlisle told me about them this morning, I was so excited and-"

I cut her off. "I _am _sorry, Esme, truly. It was never my intention to hurt you, or Carlisle, but I just had to get out of here. Away from the people, away from school, away from the town, away from-" I stopped.

"Edward." She finished. She wasn't angry, just accepting.

"Yeah." I nodded.

"What _did _he do?" I jumped when I heard Carlisle behind me. I hadn't even heard him enter the room.

"I don't want to talk about it," I said, stiffly.

"Surely it couldn't have been that bad?" He defended his son.

Upon hearing his voice, the girls turned around from their toys and ran up to him.

"GRAMPA CARWILE!"

He greeted them just as happily and they dragged both him and Esme to the floor to play with them. I followed behind and decided to sit on the couch.

Watching them interacting as a family, I felt like a horrible mother for keeping them apart. Granted, I had a good reason, but I felt horrible nonetheless.

I heard the front door open and I craned my head in its general direction to see who had come in. Carlisle had promised me no one else would be here today and I felt panic set in.

"Hey, Dad? What is it you wanted to tell me? We were just about to go to..." I heard the familiar voice and prayed it wasn't who I thought it was.

But of course, it was.

Edward walked into the room, looking every bit the Greek god I used to think he was. Behind him was the whole royal family. Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, Alice, and even James had all decided to grace my presence. They all stopped at the sight of me and I could tell no one had noticed the girls yet.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?" Edward asked.

"Oooh, Mommy, he said a bad wod," Ellie giggled. Everyone's gaze immediately traveled from me to the two little girls on the ground with Carlisle and Esme. They all froze. Ellie and Lizzie looked up at Edward curiously and I could see him hold his breath as he took in Lizzie's red hair and their bright green eyes.

"What the hell is this?" He looked shocked.

"You_ told_!" I accused Carlisle, glaring.

"He's my son, I had to. He is their father. He has to know." He seemed like he was trying to convince himself as well as me.

The whole royal family gasped, looking from me, to the twins, to Edward.

"Why are you here, bitch? Do you want money? Sympathy?" Rosalie, ever so kind, asked.

I lifted my hand and pointed to the girls. After glaring at her for swearing in front of them, I turned my gaze back to Carlisle.

"He is _not _their father. He was simply a sperm donor, nothing else."

"Mommy, what's a bitch?" Ellie asked.

"What's a sperm?" Lizzie asked.

"Nothing important, sweeties. Come on, let's go. Say goodbye to Nana Esme and Grandpa Carlisle and we can go out for ice cream."

As they bounced with excitement I helped them put their coats on, and led them out the door as fast as I could, ignoring Esme's protests and pleas to stay. I had left the front door open and was buckling my girls into their booster seats when I heard Esme talking to Edward.

"Edward, what did you do to that girl to keep her from telling us about the twins?"

"Nothing!" Edward defended himself. I felt the rage rip through me. Closing the car door gently as not to scare my girls, I angrily stomped back through the front door.

The day I had heard Edward talking to James about winning the bet, the old Bella Swan was gone and in her place, was a girl who wasn't going to take bullshit from anyone. Her innocence in every sense of the word was gone and what was left had vowed to never put herself in the position to feel that way again.

"NOTHING? FUCKING NOTHING?" I saw Esme flinch at my loud tone and the curse word, but I couldn't bring myself to care. Then I thought about my girls outside and quieted my voice. I stalked up to him and did the one thing I had been wishing to do since I had left. I slapped him so hard his head cracked to one side. I felt the pain radiating through my hand but I didn't care.

I looked at Carlisle and Esme. "I don't know how two amazingly kind people could raise such a monster."

"You _bitch," _Rosalie yelled at me. Her insults couldn't hurt me anymore.

I ignored her and turned back to Edward. "And you! Still lying after all these years. Don't you get tired of it? Do you even remember what you did to me? I _trusted _you _completely_ and you treated me like shit! What happened to all the "I love you"s? huh? Do you remember all the promises you made or did you forget, I mean, after it all, it _was _just an act to get in my pants. I still can't believe you did what you did. Sleeping with me just because of a stupid bet? Recording us and sending it around school? God, I left home, to live with an aunt I had barely ever had a conversation with to live in a place I had never been in before because of _you _and _your family! _I was alone and pregnant with _your _children and all I could think about was how much I wanted you to get raped by a shark and then eaten by it just so you could feel a tenth of what I felt when I walked into school everyday and everyone was calling me a slut!" I was stabbing my pointer finger at his chest periodically throughout my rant to emphasize my words.

I heard Esme gasp and in my peripheral vision, I saw Carlisle looking appalled as well.

"This is not the place for this," Edward grabbed my hand from where it was pointed at his chest. I jerked away from him.

"What? You don't want to ruin your perfect image? Are you stupid enough to think that I'm the same girly pushover I was four years ago? The one who let everyone walk all over her? Think again. The minute I heard you talking to James that morning, about receiving your _payment, _I promised myself that I wouldn't cry a single tear over you and that I would forget you existed. But I couldn't because at school, everyone was laughing at me, reminding me of the horrible mistake I made trusting you! Everyone was judging me, thinking _I _was the one who sent the video. Me! The girl who had been a virgin until I met you." By this point, tears were running down my cheeks and I quickly wiped them.

"I didn't send the video! James did!" Gotcha.

"Edward! James!" Esme reprimanded. I could tell by her face that she was speechless. I didn't blame her. I wouldn't have known what to say either.

"So the perfect son finally admits the truth! I don't fucking care who sent it around. _You_ made the bet with James that you would sleep with me by graduation. _You _took the video. _You _sent it to him! And _you _lied to your family and the whole school so you would fly home free and I would be the one to suffer." By the end, my voice was deadly quiet.

"I hope it was worth five hundred bucks."

I then realized I had said my rant in front of his whole family. I looked over to see Esme and Carlisle, and saw the shock and pity in their eyes. I looked over to see the rest of his family, all looking apologetic that they had believed Edward. Surprisingly, the person who seemed the most upset at hearing my story was Rosalie. She looked like she was close to tears.

"I...I have to go. I'm sorry." I hurried out the door to my car. This time, no one tried to stop me. I looked in the back seats to see my girls waiting for me patiently.

"Are you okay Mommy?"

"Yeah. You okay, Mommy?" My girls were such angels.

"Yep. Never better. Who wants to go get ice cream?"

They cheered with excitement and I found that I didn't even have to fake the smile I was wearing on my face. Even though the day had drained me emotionally, I felt oddly at peace. Like I had finally gotten closure. Like I was finally able to be myself again. Like today was a new day. Like I could do anything.


	7. Chapter 6 A Trip Down Apology Lane

**A/N**

**There's been sort of a miscommunication (one of the joys of being my own beta). I forgot to mention that the Cullens had moved since Bella was in town so that's why she had never been in the house before. She and Edward made the little monsters in Edward's old house. **

**I hope that clears up any confusion. I fixed the chapters to make everything flow all smooth and stuff so check out Chapter 3 and Chapter 5 for edits (they're minor, but they're there).**

**Shoutout to ffictionreader01 for paying so much attention that they found a mistake that even I (the writer) didn't. **

**Thanks to everyone who reads (and/or reviews)! **

**Okay, story time now. The beginning is in Edward's POV just for you guys...**

* * *

**Chapter 6: A Trip Down Apology Lane**

**EPOV**

As soon as I walked into the room, there were a million questions buzzing around my head. How did she end up in my house? When did she have kids? One look at them and it was easy to see they were mine. Why didn't she tell me? Then I thought back to what I did to her. I needed to talk to her alone; to apologize properly. Not in front of my family, who still didn't know she didn't send the video around, or my parents who had been oblivious to the whole situation.

After a heated interaction that ended up with her crying, I watched her flee out of our house like she was being chased by a monster and that's exactly how I felt. A monster.

"EDWARD, YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" Emmett yelled, and I felt his powerful fist smash into my face. He had so much force packed behind the punch that I fell backwards into the piano and slid to the hard wood floor.

Alice then walked up to me. "I can't believe you! What you did to poor Bella! Then lying to us about it! We treated her _horribly _because YOU lied to us! To think we could have gotten to know our little nieces," She wiped a tear from her eye and slapped me in the face. The same cheek that Bella had just slapped.

Alice and Emmett left the room, and Jasper followed behind, all the while giving me his signature disappointed look. Sometimes, it seemed like he was more of a father than a cousin.

The only ones who were left were Mom, Dad, Rosalie, and James. James tried to back away out of the room, but Rosalie grabbed his collar with a vice-like grip. With strength I didn't know she had, she shoved him in my direction, causing him to land on the floor next to me.

"I can't believe you two! You both _know _what I went through with Royce. You _knew _exactly how it made me feel to be used. Then you go ahead and do almost exactly the same thing to someone else, if not worse. Someone who had _never _so much as talked to you before!" Tears were running down her face. Wow. Never seen that before.

"Don't EVER talk to me again. We're done. Both of you." After kicking us each in the chest with her five inch heels, she stomped out of the room.

I could practically feel the tension in the room as my parents looked down at us, literally.

"I cannot believe the son _I _raised would do this. I expected _you_ of this James, but not you, Edward," She was crying, too. Great. In one day I had managed to make four women cry. Turning away from us, she left.

Only my dad was left.

"I called you today because I though Bella was being unreasonable in not letting those two beautiful girls meet you. I thought she was overreacting, that she was just holding a grudge against you because of a ridiculous argument you might have had four years ago. If I had thought it was as serious as this, I wouldn't have even considered calling you. Now I understand what Bella meant when she said that they were better off without you. I can only hope Bella will forgive me and allow your mother and I to be a part of their lives."

As soon as he was gone, James got up and straightened out his shirt.

"Overreaction, much?"

I glared at him and, taking the hint, he left.

And then there was none.

I didn't want to hurt Bella. I really didn't. Sure, I made the bet, but after I got to know her better, I didn't want to hurt her. When I tried to back out of the bet, James threatened to tell my mom that I had been smoking pot (which I had only done once). I followed through with the bet, but if I had known that he would have sent it around I wouldn't have. When I walked into school that monday morning, and everyone was staring at me, congratulating me on "tapping that" and asking why I sent the video around, I did the only thing I could do. I lied.

I still remember the day when she asked me why I had asked her out. I was so stunned, I stuttered.

*_Flashback*_

_"Why did you ask me out?" she asked._

_We were in that Italian restaurant, La Bella something for our first date. After days of trying to get close to her, she had finally agreed to go out with me._

_"What?" I was caught off guard. Did she know about the bet?_

_"Its just, you never paid attention to me before, what made you ask me out?"_

_I quickly collected myself, "I-uh-I always paid attention to you, you just never noticed."_

_*End Flashback*_

Then I thought of the two little girls who had resulted from my stupid choice to make a bet with James. I had always wanted kids, but not now! I wasn't ready to be a father! I was only twenty-one! I wanted to see the world, go to college, and get a good job, not take care of little kids. But when I was looking at them, I felt a connection with them. I had to make this right.

* * *

**THE NEXT DAY**

**BPOV**

My parents had just taken the girls to the zoo. I had the whole house to myself. The last time I had been alone with some free time was...high school, actually. I was halfway up the stairs to re-read my beat-up copy of _Wuthering Heights _for the billionth time when the doorbell rang. I headed towards the door, ready to tell the person that my parents weren't home and to come again later. I opened it and when I saw who was standing on the other side, immediately slammed the door in his face.

"I just want to talk," Edward said.

"What could you possibly have to say now? You had your chance years ago." I turned way from the door to leave him there.

"Can you please open the door?"

I considered my options. He was stubborn; if I just ignored him, he wouldn't leave until I opened the door. If I opened the door, he would think he won. In the end, my curiosity got the better of me and I opened the door enough that I could see his face, but not enough for him to come in. I looked at his face to see a dark bruise on his cheek. I didn't slap him on that cheek, so I had no idea what, or who, caused it. Was it bad that I felt good that something had caused him pain?

"Well. What do you want? Haven't you ruined my life enough for a lifetime? Can't you just leave me alone?"

He looked down, and he looked like the Edward I remembered. Awkward and unsure of himself when put into a personal situation. I kicked the thought out of my head as quickly as it came and I put my pokerface back on.

"I came to apologize. I'm _really _sorry about what I did to you. _Really, really _sorry. I had no right to do what I did and I'm sorry." Surprisingly, he actually looked like he meant it. I narrowed my eyes.

"What makes you so sorry now?"

"I was always sorry, its just-"

I cut him off with a scoff.

"You were _never _sorry. You _recorded _us having sex, and you sent it to James who sent it to the whole school! I _loved _you and you threw that away! When everyone was calling me a slut, you told them I sent the video around, instead of admitting your mistake. When I tried to talk to you, you brushed me off and hid behind your family. Even yesterday, you tried to interrupt me by saying 'this isn't the place for this'. Your still the selfish dick I remember." I moved to close the door but his hand shot out in between the door and its frame.

"I interrupted you, because I wanted to talk to you alone, and to apologize. No, I didn't want my family to know, but I am sorry. I want to make it up to you, and the twins. I want to be a father to them-"

"A father? Really? You know, the minute I found out I was pregnant, I vowed never to tell you, or your family. Those two girls are the purest souls you'll ever meet. You don't _deserve _them," I glared.

"Please. I'll do anything just let me be a part of their lives. Please." He was straight up groveling now and I had to give him points for that. Who would have thought Edward Cullen would want to be a dad?

I didn't know weather to believe his words now or to remember what he did to me in the past.

"Why should I believe you? I just saw you yesterday for the first time in years. Even if I agreed, I won't just throw you into their lives. I need time, Edward."

"How old are they? Three? I've already missed a lot of their lives, I don't want to waste any more. Just introduce me as your friend or something, and when you see that I'm not going anywhere, you can introduce me as their father."

It made sense, and I could always change my mind. I couldn't believe I was actually going to agree to this, but honestly, what did I have to lose? It wasn't like he would gain anything from this. He was sorry, and wanted to meet his daughters and be a part of their lives. I wasn't forgiving him, and I wasn't going to interact with him on a daily basis willingly, I would just tolerate him for the girls' sake.

"Fine."

"Really?" He looked elated.

"But there are three things; one, no coming over at random. If you want to see them, call me and we can set up a time. Two, you can't tell them you're their father until _I _decide, and three, don't think I forgive you. You have years of apologizing before I even consider becoming friends," I felt slightly better that I had set down a couple ground rules. I felt like the situation was spinning out of my control. One minute I was hating him, and the next, I was allowing him to be a part of my children's lives. _Both your children's lives, _my inner voice corrected.

"Thanks, Bella. I won't let you down this time. You or the girls. I promise."

"You'd better not. If you hurt them, I swear, I will drop kick your sorry ass all the way to Port Angeles." I was serious, too. He may have gotten away with hurting me, but he wouldn't get away with hurting my girls.

He laughed before he spoke again. "Umm, Bella."

"What?"

"Can I come in now?"


	8. Chapter 7 Corruption At Its Finest

**_End of Chapter 6:_**

_He laughed before he spoke again. "Umm, Bella." _

_"What?" _

_"Can I come in now?"_

* * *

**Chapter 7: Corruption At Its Finest**

"MOMMY CAN WE COME IN?"

"YEAH! NANA SAYD WE CAN'T UNWESS YOU OPEN THE DOOR!"

The constant yelling and the persistent pounding on my bedroom door woke me up before I could hear my response. It was at that moment that I realized that the whole scenario that had played in my head wasjust a dream. I breathed a sigh of relief at the realization. Why in the hell would I dream of forgiving Edward? After everything he did to me why would I even dream about letting him meet my girls? I thought about what Angela would say. Probably something along the lines of 'its your subconscious telling you something you don't realize consciously'. Yeah. I wanted Edward to meet the girls. Totally. That was _exactly _what I wanted.

I tried analyzing the dream. Unlike most dreams where everything was blurry and I didn't really remember everything, this was strangely crystal clear. I had given in so easily just after a couple of apologies. He played me just like he played me before. Just one day in his presence and he had corrupted my mind. Maybe he was a demon who control minds or something and I-

"MOOOOOOOMMMMYYYYYY!" I had totally forgotten about the girls. I jolted out of bed and yanked open the door; it wasn't even locked.

Both my girls were standing at the door with their hands on their hips, scowling adorably.

"Mommy, you slow," Ellie chastised me.

I laughed. They were so cute, it was hard to believe I made them.

"Why you laugh, Mommy? S'not funny!" She said indignantly. Yup. Definitely my kid. She had my stubbornness.

I composed myself, but it took effort.

"Sorry, Ellie. I was just laughing because today is a very special day."

"Why it speshal?" Lizzie piped up.

"Umm..." I tried to think of something good. "We're going to go somewhere today."

"Where we goin'?" They both asked, looking up at me with puzzled and excited looks on their faces.

"Umm...the zoo," It was the first thing I could think of.

The looked at me like I was insane and I realized they didn't know what a zoo was.

"It's where you get to see all the animals," I explained.

"Giraffes?" Ellie asked. They were her favorite animals.

"Yup. And zebras and horses and-"

"And lions?" Lizzie asked. They used to be Edward's favorite and I wondered when she started to like them. He had corrupted her, too.

"Of course! We'll go after breakfast. Now, why was it you woke me up?"

"..." They looked at each other, lost, and I could tell by their faces that they were thinking hard.

"Oh yeah! Nana maked pancakes!" Ellie finally remembered.

They grabbed each of my hands and tried to drag me out the door, but I pulled them towards me instead. I hadn't even brushed my teeth yet, much less looked presentable enough for breakfast and when I told them this they groaned and tapped their toes impatiently until I was done.

When we finally got downstairs, I was greeted with the sight of my father in his usual seat reading a newspaper, and my mother, who was usually a horrible cook, flitting about the kitchen. I helped the girls up onto a couple of chairs at the table and observed my mother cooking.

She had always tried to make edible food, but always failed. She never gave up, but had never improved either. I, of course, had needed to learn early on how to cook as not to starve us. What impressed me more than her efforts today was the pile of gorgeously golden chocolate chip pancakes stacked on a plate on the kitchen table. Back when I lived here, and even when they came to visit a few months ago, she had been an awful cook and had been unable to even cook rice without setting it on fire. And it was _in water. _Now, she looked like a pro.

"Wow, Mom, when did you learn how to cook?"

"Oh, honey. I was wondering when you would wake up! I sent the girls, did they wake you up?"

"Yeah, Nana!"

"We woke Mommy up!"

She went over to them and gave them each a plate with a cut-up pancake on it. I was grateful she had cut the pancakes up to save me the trouble, but I was hesitant. I pulled the plates away from them and examined one piece to make sure she hadn't poisoned my children with her horrible cooking.

"Bella, really?" I ignored my mother and, squeezing my eyes shut, I put it in my mouth.

I opened my eyes in shock. I was pleasantly surprised at it's deliciousness. After deeming it worthy, I pushed the plates back towards them and they both reached for the syrup. When I saw the precarious way Ellie was holding the syrup over her pancake, I took it from her and poured it for them. They dug in with their hands, and I was glad I had made them wash their hands with me in the bathroom. I kissed top of both their heads and after making sure they were situated and content with their meal, grabbed a pancake from the pile and made myself a plate. I took one bite before losing control and stuffing more in my mouth, moaning at its goodness.

"Oh my God, Mom. These are amazing. When did you learn how to cook?" She blushed; a rare occurrence for my outgoing and shameless mother.

"Well...um..I've been watching the food channel." She finally said. I didn't understand.

"Okay? What's so wrong with that? Why are you blushing?" I looked towards both my parents for an explanation.

"Don't let her fool you, Bells. She wasn't watching to learn how to cook. She was oggling the chef guy on tv. It wasn't like her husband was right there or anything." He gave Mom a fake glare before returning to his paper.

"Oh, Bella! If only you had seen him! I swear, he would be perfect for you. All dark and mysterious, and did I mention GORGEOUS? If only I was young and hot again," She started fanning herself with the spatula.

Just by chance - probably my mother senses tingling - I looked at the griddle.

"Uh, Mom," I pointed to where a pancake had breathed his last breath sometime during our conversation and was lying charred and burnt.

"Oh, dear Ghandi!" She scraped it off with the spatula and it slid towards her hand, burning her. With a shout, she flung it into the air instinctively. My eyes followed it as it flipped and sailed through the air, landing perfectly on my dad's head.

When he didn't show any sign of acknowledgment towards the pancake and hadn't even tried to brush it off, I realized he hadn't felt it land on his head.

I started cracking up. My mom blushed even deeper and started giggling.

We weren't the only ones to realize there was a pancake on his head.

"Grampa! There's pancake on ya head!" Lizzie, ever observant, told him.

"What are you talking about, mini-bell?" He turned his head to look at her, and the pancake plopped down onto his lap. He stared at it for a moment before speaking.

"Renee," He lifted up the pancake.

"Yes, Charlie," She was trying to contain her laughter and I could see her visibly trying to calm herself to no avail. She coughed to hide her laughs.

"Maybe you should watch that channel more often," He wiggled the pancake back and forth in her direction to emphasize his words.

I couldn't take it anymore, I burst out laughing. I doubled over, my sides hurting from laughing. When I composed myself enough to straighten up, I saw my dad's mustache twitching from trying to hide his smile.

"Mommy, can we go zoo now?" Ellie asked. I looked over at them to see them finished with their food with syrup all over their face and hands.

"Oh, dear," my mother held her hand up to her mouth. "I'll go clean them up," They reached their hands up to be picked up, and despite their stickiness, she picked them up, one in each arm, and headed to the bathroom.

"Thanks, Mom!" I called after her.

Then I looked towards my dad.

"Do you know a zoo nearby?"

* * *

When I told my mom it was their first time going to a zoo, she refused to let me take them claiming it was her "grandmotherly right to have at least one 'first' with her grandchildren" and that she had "missed too much of their lives already" and that "nothing I said would matter" and that she was "taking the children no matter what".

They left in my dad's cruiser - the girls wanted to go in the 'police' - and left me behind. That left my mom's car parked in the driveway. Since I had nothing better to do, and my parents had kidnapped my kids, I 'borrowed' my mom's keys and decided to drive to Port Angeles and go to the bookstore I used to go to every weekend back when I lived here.

It was an sunny day, a rarity in Forks, and the car was a sleek convertible, so I decided to take advantage and live a little. It was a long drive but with the wind blowing through my hair and music up loud, I felt freer than I had in a long time. When I finally arrived, I was surprised to see the place had changed drastically. Instead of the dreary old decor that I was used to, the place looked sophisticated and chic, with white and black walls and bright new shelves.

I was pleasantly surprised that the layout and arrangement of the books was the same and I was able to find a row of books that suited my tastes fairly quickly. I grabbed one and slid down to the floor to read a little bit of it.

A few books and a couple hours later, I was ready to leave. I had a couple books for me and a few childrens' books in my hand for the girls, I was heading to the cash register when in the corner of my eye, I saw someone that made my breath stutter.

"Shit," I muttered. I ducked back behind a shelf but it was too late.

"Bella?" She came behind the shelf and I knew there was no hiding now.

"Oh, Bella, I thought it was you,"

"Hi, Esme," I faked enthusiasm.

"Can we talk?"

"Umm, I don't think that's really a good idea. I have to get home-"

"Just somewhere for lunch? I know a great place just around the corner," she pleaded.

I could have said no, but I didn't really see why not. She didn't do anything to me, unless she knew Carlisle was going to call Edward that day. I narrowed my eyes at and analyzed her but all I could see was genuine concern and kindness.

I agreed, and after paying, I headed out the door and she followed. I heard her telling the cashier that she would be back soon. I thought it was odd, but didn't think that much of it.

As we walked out of the store, she started conversation.

"So what were you doing at my bookstore?"

I was confused. "What do you mean your bookstore?"

She pointed behind me at the sign I hadn't even noticed walking in: ESME'S BOOKS.

At my confused look, she explained further.

"The owner was selling and I bought it last year. I remodeled everything and we just re-opened last month,"

Ahh. That explained the new decor.

She stopped, and I halted too. Distracted by our conversation, I hadn't even noticed that we had arrived. I looked up at the sign to see it was the same restaurant I had come to with Edward on our first date. Talk about de ja vu.

I opened the door and held it open for her. After thanking me, she led me inside. We were seated promptly and after a while, our waiter came to take our orders.

"Hello, my name is Jessica, and I'll be your waiter today," she started.

I looked up at her and just as quickly looked back down.

"OMG BELLA?"

Damn it. Today just wasn't my day.

* * *

**A/N**

Weren't expecting that were you? A few comments from the last chapter said things like 'why did she give in so easily? Why would she let that perv meet her kids? I'm done reading' and stuff like that. I wasn't expecting people to stop reading because of a cliffhanger that didn't seem like a cliffhanger, but thank you to you who are still reading! You ain't seen nothing yet :)


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